Dear Young Men...
Do you degrade and name call females at your tertiary institute or school because they ignore your advances?
When a female at your school or tertiary institute says NO to anything she is uncomfortable with, do you fail to accept this and do you force the issue?
Do you fail to say something when your “boys” cat call, inappropriately pursue or throw sexist insults at a girl/girls at school or elsewhere?
Do you feel embarrassed or ashamed when something that touches you emotionally makes you cry?
Do you make judgments on women or girls based on how they are dressed?
Do you feel women are bad drivers and should leave the driving to the men?
Do you publicly laugh at sexist/racist/homophic “jokes” and do you share sexist content online?
When a female expresses her frustrations and shows emotions, do you view it as weakness.
Do you tease your sisters, cousins, friends and females you come into contact with simply for being female and do you mock and ridicule them at every given opportunity?
Do you sometimes get confused between a female being interested in you, and her simply being friendly and kind? GROWING up has never been easy for any generation of young men, but today’s young people are faced with new challenges that are complex and sometimes confusing. Young men often imitate or take on habits and behaviours of their fathers, older men and their age peers, little realising that these behaviours are wrong, outdated and embody toxic masculinity. It might not seem like much, making a sexist joke, cat-calling or bullying someone simply because of their gender. However, these actions contribute to a climate of fear for women and girls, and fuel a sense that men can do as they please, which leads to gender-based violence consuming our society. Voilence against women has become a terrible blight on our society. Try to become more mindful of how you treat women and girls in your own home, at school, on the playing field and your community. If you answered “yes” to any number of the above questions, it is seriously time to unlearn some of these behaviours and responses to situations, because it is never too late to become the best version of yourself as a young man. You can be the change, #dontlookaway and #talk2yourboys